The two residents of The Village at Brookfield Common met in the dining room there.

"I introduced them and that was it," said
Helen Waldman
, a 78-year-old retired real estate agent and fellow resident. "They just hit it off."

For Palmeri and Grunfeld that initially meant discussing a topic most would not consider romantic: knee replacement surgery. She had just had the procedure done, and he was contemplating it.

As part of her recovery, Grunfeld took daily walks, and it wasn't long before Palmeri started accompanying her. The walks quickly turned into talks.

"We picked a room we liked so we could talk together alone all day," he said.

From these conversations, the two learned they had led remarkably similar lives. Both had been caught up in World War II -- Palmeri as a Marine and Grunfeld as a Polish Jew fleeing the Nazis. Both lost their spouses of 65 years in the past 12 months.

And between those events, they lived within two blocks of each other on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. "I was so close to her that if I looked out my window I could have seen her walking to the shul," he said about her going to temple.

At that time, both Palmeri and Grunfeld were busy raising their own families. Palmeri supported his wife and two children as an elevator mechanic, and Grunfeld stayed home to raise three boys. Now all of their children are grown and looking forward to their June wedding.

"I am very happy for them," said
Larry Grunfeld
, Anna's oldest son and a real estate manager in Manhattan. He plans to play host to the wedding at his lake home in Brookfield.

"I think they are like teenagers in love," he said.

But unlike most teenage romances, which quickly run their course, Palmeri made a bold move to solidify their relationship. He bought a ring and planned to propose marriage, but Grunfeld wouldn't be won over easily.

Grunfeld had "two commandments" that had to be fulfilled before taking the relationship further. First, out of respect, the pair had to wait until one year had passed since their spouses' deaths. Second, Palmeri had to get the knee surgery he was contemplating during their first conversations.

"I want a man on his feet, not limping around," said Grunfeld with a laugh.

That promised, she got a man on his one good knee, with a diamond ring in hand.

"I had to show that I lassoed her," Palmeri said of the ring.

But he doesn't claim all the credit for winning her over. "Somebody helped us get here," he said, pointing to the heavens.

"God said it is meant to be," Grunfeld said. "I couldn't believe it myself that I could get love a second time."